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authorMounir IDRASSI <mounir.idrassi@idrix.fr>2023-09-06 01:42:23 +0200
committerMounir IDRASSI <mounir.idrassi@idrix.fr>2023-09-06 01:42:23 +0200
commit0ad5c43eb42f696807b4df0b515f2742831b2c18 (patch)
tree0396103ebdf49aa4ce30109b4e2b8bc5c7bda813 /doc/html
parent609a6384996c17f507dba442949786cc5d7ae766 (diff)
downloadVeraCrypt-0ad5c43eb42f696807b4df0b515f2742831b2c18.tar.gz
VeraCrypt-0ad5c43eb42f696807b4df0b515f2742831b2c18.zip
Windows: remove recommendation of keyfiles files extensions and update documentation to mention risks of third-party file extensions.
This commit also adds red color to the warning text about keyfiles in keyfiles dialogs.
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/html')
-rw-r--r--doc/html/Avoid Third-Party File Extensions.html85
-rw-r--r--doc/html/Documentation.html1
-rw-r--r--doc/html/Keyfiles in VeraCrypt.html1
3 files changed, 86 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/doc/html/Avoid Third-Party File Extensions.html b/doc/html/Avoid Third-Party File Extensions.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b339e780
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/html/Avoid Third-Party File Extensions.html
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
+ "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
+<title>VeraCrypt - Free Open source disk encryption with strong security for the Paranoid</title>
+<meta name="description" content="VeraCrypt is free open-source disk encryption software for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. In case an attacker forces you to reveal the password, VeraCrypt provides plausible deniability. In contrast to file encryption, data encryption performed by VeraCrypt is real-time (on-the-fly), automatic, transparent, needs very little memory, and does not involve temporary unencrypted files."/>
+<meta name="keywords" content="encryption, security"/>
+<link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
+</head>
+<body>
+
+<div>
+<a href="Documentation.html"><img src="VeraCrypt128x128.png" alt="VeraCrypt"/></a>
+</div>
+
+<div id="menu">
+ <ul>
+ <li><a href="Home.html">Home</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/code/">Source Code</a></li>
+ <li><a href="Downloads.html">Downloads</a></li>
+ <li><a class="active" href="Documentation.html">Documentation</a></li>
+ <li><a href="Donation.html">Donate</a></li>
+ <li><a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/veracrypt/discussion/" target="_blank">Forums</a></li>
+ </ul>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<p>
+<a href="Documentation.html">Documentation</a>
+<img src="arrow_right.gif" alt=">>" style="margin-top: 5px">
+<a href="Avoid%20Third-Party%20File%20Extensions.html">Avoid Third-Party File Extensions</a>
+</p></div>
+
+<div class="wikidoc">
+ <h1>Understanding the Risks of Using Third-Party File Extensions with VeraCrypt</h1>
+ <div>
+ <p>While VeraCrypt provides robust encryption capabilities to secure your data, using third-party file extensions for File Containers or Keyfiles could risk making the encrypted data inaccessible.<br />
+ This guide provides an in-depth explanation of the associated risks, and it outlines recommendations for best practices to mitigate these risks.</p>
+ </div>
+
+ <h2>Risks Associated with File Containers</h2>
+ <div>
+ <p>Using a third-party file extension for File Containers exposes you to several risks:</p>
+ <ul>
+ <li>Overwritten Metadata: Third-party applications may update their metadata, which could overwrite crucial parts of the File Container.</li>
+ <li>Unintentional Changes: Accidentally launching a File Container with a third-party application could modify its metadata without your consent.</li>
+ <li>Container Corruption: These actions could render the container unreadable or unusable.</li>
+ <li>Data Loss: The data within the container might be permanently lost if the container becomes corrupted.</li>
+ </ul>
+ </div>
+
+ <h2>Risks Associated with Keyfiles</h2>
+ <div>
+ <p>Similar risks are associated with Keyfiles:</p>
+ <ul>
+ <li>Keyfile Corruption: Inadvertently modifying a Keyfile with a third-party application can make it unusable for decryption.</li>
+ <li>Overwritten Data: Third-party applications may overwrite the portion of the Keyfile that VeraCrypt uses for decryption.</li>
+ <li>Unintentional Changes: Accidental changes can make it impossible to mount the volume unless you have an unaltered backup of the Keyfile.</li>
+ </ul>
+ </div>
+
+ <h2>Examples of Extensions to Avoid</h2>
+ <div>
+ <p>Avoid using the following types of third-party file extensions:</p>
+ <ul>
+ <li>Media Files: Picture, audio, and video files are subject to metadata changes by their respective software.</li>
+ <li>Archive Files: Zip files can be easily modified, which could disrupt the encrypted volume.</li>
+ <li>Executable Files: Software updates can modify these files, making them unreliable as File Containers or Keyfiles.</li>
+ <li>Document Files: Office and PDF files can be automatically updated by productivity software, making them risky to use.</li>
+ </ul>
+ </div>
+
+ <h2>Recommendations</h2>
+ <div>
+ <p>For secure usage, consider the following best practices:</p>
+ <ul>
+ <li>Use neutral file extensions for File Containers and Keyfiles to minimize the risk of automatic file association.</li>
+ <li>Keep secure backups of your File Containers and Keyfiles in locations isolated from network access.</li>
+ <li>Disable auto-open settings for the specific file extensions you use for VeraCrypt File Containers and Keyfiles.</li>
+ <li>Always double-check file associations and be cautious when using a new device or third-party application.</li>
+ </ul>
+ </div>
+
+<div class="ClearBoth"></div></body></html>
diff --git a/doc/html/Documentation.html b/doc/html/Documentation.html
index e18feb35..b7c09887 100644
--- a/doc/html/Documentation.html
+++ b/doc/html/Documentation.html
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
</li><li><a href="Mounting%20VeraCrypt%20Volumes.html">Mounting Volumes</a>
</li></ul>
</li><li><strong><a href="Normal%20Dismount%20vs%20Force%20Dismount.html">Normal Dismount vs Force Dismount</a></strong>
+</li><li><strong><a href="Avoid%20Third-Party%20File%20Extensions.html">Avoid Third-Party File Extensions</a></strong>
</li><li><strong><a href="Parallelization.html">Parallelization</a></strong>
</li><li><strong><a href="Pipelining.html">Pipelining</a></strong>
</li><li><strong><a href="Hardware%20Acceleration.html">Hardware acceleration</a></strong>
diff --git a/doc/html/Keyfiles in VeraCrypt.html b/doc/html/Keyfiles in VeraCrypt.html
index eea6939a..5a07bf48 100644
--- a/doc/html/Keyfiles in VeraCrypt.html
+++ b/doc/html/Keyfiles in VeraCrypt.html
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ Allows multiple users to mount a single volume using different user passwords or
Allows managing multi-user <em style="text-align:left">shared</em> access (all keyfile holders must present their keyfiles before a volume can be mounted).
</li></ul>
<div style="text-align:left; margin-top:19px; margin-bottom:19px; padding-top:0px; padding-bottom:0px">
-Any kind of file (for example, .txt, .exe, mp3**, .avi) can be used as a VeraCrypt keyfile (however, we recommend that you prefer compressed files, such as .mp3, .jpg, .zip, etc).
<br style="text-align:left">
<br style="text-align:left">
Note that VeraCrypt never modifies the keyfile contents. You can select more than one keyfile; the order does not matter. You can also let VeraCrypt generate a file with random content and use it as a keyfile. To do so, select